


Storm - Part One

by lachatblanche



Series: Dollhouse AU [34]
Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Consent Issues, M/M, One-Sided Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 23:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lachatblanche/pseuds/lachatblanche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things get even more complicated for Logan and Erik as they continue further into the depths of the Dollhouse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Storm - Part One

There wasn’t any time to react. 

One minute the door was closed and the next – 

‘Howlett?’ 

Logan, who had gone as still as a statue when the door had opened, felt his shoulders abruptly slump in relief. Throwing Erik a sharp glare in warning to keep his mouth shut, he then turned to the new arrival who was standing with one hand on the door, looking at them curiously.

‘Hey there, Doc,’ he said gruffly, giving Dr. McTaggart a short nod even as he casually leaned back against the wall of the room. ‘You lookin’ for something?’

Moira, who had been frowning pensively at the silent figure cut by Erik, turned to Logan with a wan smile. ‘Yes,’ she said, running a hand through her hair and letting out a tired sigh, ‘I’m looking for Jackson. He was supposed to have been in my office almost twenty minutes ago now, but I can’t seem to find him anywhere.’

Logan’s eyes flickered over to Erik, whose stoic exterior was marred only by the quick, urgent glance that he sent in Logan’s direction.

_Typical,_ Logan could barely keep himself from rolling his eyes. In a show of remarkable restraint, he manfully refrained from calling Lehnsherr a dumb fucking asshole in front of their audience and instead merely sighed and turned back to Moira. 

‘Sorry, Doc,’ he said with a careless shrug. ‘Can’t help you. Haven’t seen him.’

‘Right,’ Moira said, letting out a sigh of exasperation. Her eyes drifted down Logan’s arm. ‘You _really_ shouldn’t smoke those, you know,’ she said, indicating Logan’s cigar. While her tone was admonishing, there was nevertheless a spark of amusement in her eyes. ‘For your sake _and_ everyone else’s. Plus you and I both know that Frost will have a fit if she ever finds out.’

‘Like you said,’ Logan said easily, lifting his cigar to his lips and taking a deliberately long drag, ‘ _If_ she finds out.’

Moira’s lips twitched at that but she quickly schooled her expression into one of mild disapproval. ‘On your head be it,’ she said, with a shake of her head. She then turned so that she was facing Erik. ‘So – who’s _this_ then?’

Logan once again flicked his eyes over to Erik and caught his eye. ‘This here’s John,’ he said coolly. ‘He works here.’

Moira frowned.

‘I haven’t seen him around before,’ she said, studying Erik closely in a way that Logan could see made him very twitchy. ‘I’m sure I haven’t – I don’t think that I would have forgotten him if I had …’

‘He’s new,’ Logan said immediately, taking a pull on his cigar and managing to look supremely unconcerned despite the way that his heart was beating in his chest. ‘Only just started. I’m showing him the ropes.’

Moira raised an eyebrow at that. 

‘You?’ she scoffed. ‘Show him the ropes?’ She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, but I find it _very_ hard to believe that you did that voluntarily.’

Logan gave her a look. ‘Who said it was voluntary?’ he grunted, causing Moira to smirk.

‘Yes, I didn’t think so,’ she said, sounding rather smug. Her gaze wandered past Logan then, and came to settle once more on Erik. And again the puzzled expression returned to her face.

‘He’s new, you said?’ she asked, an odd tone to her voice.

‘Yeah,’ Logan said, lowering his cigar and watching Moira narrowly. ‘That’s what I said. And?’

‘It’s just-’ Moira hesitated. ‘I’m usually informed of new recruits. I didn’t know that we’d taken anyone on recently.’ She paused again, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinised Erik. ‘His suit … he’s wearing a suit. But – Logan – we haven’t taken on any new Handlers in _months_ -’

That was as far as she got as – before Logan could even open his mouth – Erik had strode forward and, before Moira had even registered what was happening, had drawn out his gun in one slick move and now had it pointed straight at Moira’s head.

‘Don’t move,’ Erik said calmly, watching as Moira’s eyes widened in fear. ‘Dr. MacTaggart is it?’

Moira jerked her head down in a nod, the fear in her eyes slowly being replaced with anger.

‘Sorry about your appointment,’ Erik continued smoothly, gesturing for Moira to walk further along into the room. ‘I’m rather afraid that was my doing. He won’t be making that meeting today, I don’t think. But then again, neither will you.’

‘Are you going to kill me?’ Moira asked, and despite the tremble in her voice her expression was fierce and unflinching.

Erik didn’t answer immediately but by then Logan had seen enough.

‘God fucking damn it, Lehnsherr!’ he snarled, striding forward and shoving Erik’s gun away from where it had been pointing at Moira. ‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’

Erik turned to him with a look of vague surprise.

‘What am _I_ doing?’ he repeated, his eyebrows drawing together in the beginnings of a fearsome scowl, ‘I’m trying to keep the both of us alive. What are _you_ doing?’

Moira was watching the both of them with wide eyes.

‘Howlett?’ she whispered, interrupting them and causing both men to turn to her. ‘Logan? Is this – Are you _with_ this man?’

Logan grimaced. He threw Erik a thoroughly filthy look before turning back to Moira.

‘Listen, Doc,’ he began, his rough voice gentling into something softer. ‘It’s not what it looks like. I know that this looks bad, but-’

‘Are you with him?’

Logan hesitated. Then:

‘Yes,’ he said, drawing himself up taller. ‘Yes, I am.’

Moira swore then, something completely vile and filthy, before turning to Logan with seething fury in her eyes.

‘Fuck you,’ she hissed. ‘Fuck you, Howlett. What is it that you’re after? Money? Tech?’ she shook her head, her lip turning up into a sneer. ‘Well. Fuck. You. How can you do this to us?’ She raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. ‘How can you do this to _Charles_?’

Logan’s control snapped.

‘God _dammit_ , Moira,’ he snarled, striding forward until he was all but pressed up against her front. ‘I’m fucking doing this _for_ Charles!’

There was silence.

‘Explain,’ Moira snapped, sounding more like an Army General than a doctor.

Logan glanced wearily over at Erik. The other man was glaring at him and, although he would not count himself as a mind-reader, Logan was almost one-hundred percent certain that Erik’s brain was loudly broadcasting something along the lines of _Don’t you fucking dare_.

Logan, however, had never been one to back away from a challenge.

‘You asked me what it is that we want,’ he said, turning to face Moira and ignoring the furious hissing noises coming from the man next to him. ‘Well, I’ll tell you what we want. We want Shaw.’ 

It was as simple as that.

Moira stared at them.

‘Shaw,’ she repeated dumbly after a moment, the disbelief clear in her voice. ‘You want Sebastian Shaw.’

‘It’s what I said, isn’t it?’ Logan grumbled, mournfully regarding the now burnt-out cigar-end in his hand.

‘You want Shaw,’ Moira said again, her voice flat. ‘You are going after Sebastian fucking Shaw.’

‘Lehnsherr here’s a police officer,’ Logan said idly, jerking his head towards Erik and tossing the cigar-end over his shoulder. ‘He’s on a crusade to bring Shaw down. I just thought I’d go along for the ride.’

Moira’s eyes were now trained on Erik, her gaze sharp and penetrating.

‘You’re police?’ she demanded. Erik nodded once and she mirrored the action, looking thoughtful. ‘I see. Back-up?’

Logan snorted at that. Erik threw him a dirty look before answering.

‘No,’ he said, scowling at the wall. ‘No back-up. Not yet.’

Moira was staring at them again. After a moment she shook her head.

‘You’re crazy. Both of you. Completely and utterly insane.’

‘That a professional opinion there, Doc?’ Logan asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Moira looked up then, a strange, sharp smile on her face.

‘Not that kind of doctor,’ she answered, before straightening up. She cocked her head, looking at Logan. ‘I suppose this decision of yours has nothing to do with Charles and the fact that Shaw’s got him booked up for an entire week, huh?’

Logan didn’t respond but the dark look on his face seemed to be enough to answer Moira’s question.

‘Right,’ she said slowly. Her eyes flicked between both Erik and Logan. ‘So basically you intend to bring down the Dollhouse, stop Shaw and free the Actives all on your own, without any sort of back-up, and with no sort of conceivable plan whatsoever?’

Erik and Logan shared a look.

‘Yes,’ Erik said after a moment.

‘Yeah,’ Logan agreed, scratching his beard with his left hand. ‘You got a point to make there, Doc?’

Moira stared at them. They stared back. Then:

‘Oh screw it,’ she said, letting out a sigh and shaking her head before tossing her hair over her shoulder. ‘Count me in. Where do I sign up?’

Both Logan and Erik stared at her.

‘Come again?’ Logan asked at the same time as Erik demanded ‘What?’

Moira raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.

‘You heard me,’ she said, meeting their eyes and not backing down. ‘Count me in. It’s not as if you don’t need the manpower.’

‘Well, yeah …’ Logan began but was interrupted by an irate Erik.

‘No,’ Erik said flatly. ‘No way. We’re not bringing her along for this. I won’t allow it.’

Both Logan and Moira turned as one, looking at Erik incredulously.

‘Excuse me?’ Moira demanded. ‘Who put _you_ in charge?’

‘That’s a good question,’ Logan agreed, bringing his thick, muscular arms back across his chest. ‘I know that I sure didn’t.’

Erik’s jaw tightened and he glared at Logan.

‘We’re not involving her,’ he said tightly, giving Moira look of thinly-veiled suspicion. ‘It’s too much of a risk, she could ruin _everything_. How do you know she won’t betray us the first chance she gets?’

Logan was silent for a moment. He knew that Erik’s suspicions were logical, but he nevertheless felt that they weren’t right. He studied Moira for a minute, taking in her fierce expression and the resolve in her eyes and he came to a decision.

‘I don’t,’ he said, turning to face Erik. ‘But I guess it’s a risk that I’m willing to take. Saddle up, Doc,’ he said, glancing over at Moira, who was now looking rather smug, ‘Looks like you’re in.’

‘Fantastic,’ Erik muttered under his breath, looking thoroughly displeased with the way that things were turning out. Logan grinned and, reaching out, clapped Erik firmly on the back.

‘That’s the spirit, bub,’ he said, before turning towards the door. ‘Shall we, ladies?’

He was met by a scowl from Erik and a roll of the eyes from Moira, but all that did was make Logan’s grin grow even wider. This momentary glee faded the moment that they all started forward.

‘We should head for the Rec Room,’ Moira suggested as they approached the door. ‘Check how many people are about.’

But Logan shook his head.

‘I already checked,’ he said in a low voice as he pulled open the door and surreptitiously glanced about. ‘There wasn’t anyone there. Most people either have the day off or have gone home, and the rest I already dealt with.’

Moira raised an eyebrow at that.

‘Just how did you do that exactly?’ she asked, although her tone suggested that she already knew.

Logan shrugged. ‘I sent some home,’ he said easily. ‘And the ones I couldn’t get to leave, I knocked on the head. Satisfied?’

Moira’s expression showed that she was anything but, but she was pragmatic enough to know that Logan had only done what was necessary.

‘We should probably head for the Dolls, then,’ Erik said casually, interrupting the two of them.

Logan turned his head and looked at him but Erik was determinedly avoiding all eye-contact.

‘You know that we won’t be able to free them just like that, right?’ Moira said as they made their way across the hall, trying to act as normal as possible. ‘Not as they are. Right now they are in a blank, vulnerable state; they won’t be back to normal until they are reprogrammed and their memories are returned to them. You get that, right?’

‘Yes,’ Erik said shortly. He still didn’t seem all that pleased to have Moira along for the ride. ‘I understand. Which is why we’ll work on getting him reprogrammed right after we’ve found him.’

Moira came to a sudden halt.

‘Him?’ she repeated, her voice suddenly filled with suspicion. ‘What do you mean, _him_?’

Logan let out a snort.

‘Oh right,’ he said, a smirk on his face, ‘I forgot to mention. Lehnsherr here is another one of the Charles Appreciation Society.’ He raised an eyebrow at Moira. ‘You and he should get right along then, don’t you think, Doc?’

Both Erik and Moira shot each other startled looks that slowly morphed into a general sort of wariness. They met each others eyes grimly before quickly looking away. Neither of them said a word but both of them looked rather tight around the mouth.

‘So,’ Logan said after a moment of awkward silence. ‘We’re heading to the Pods, then?’

‘Pods?’ Erik questioned before Moira could open her mouth.

Logan turned and met his eyes for a moment before continuing on his way. A minute later and they were in front of a thick set of doors, at which Logan paused. He turned back to Erik again before slowly pushing them open.

‘These,’ he said, as he led the way through the doors, the ceiling light automatically flickering on as they entered, ‘are the Pods.’

He watched as Erik glanced around the room, his look of momentary confusion quickly morphing into understanding as he realised what he was seeing.

The room was largely empty, with no furniture or installations of any kind. It would’ve appeared to be completely bare if it weren’t for the seven glass slats on the floor arranged in the shape of a circle – or at least, it appeared to be thus until one realised that the floor wasn’t merely a floor. The opaque glass slats were, in fact, covers for seven pits – or, rather, enclosures – in the ground, and each of these berths was the resting place of a single Active Doll.

‘This is just one of the Resting Rooms,’ Logan said quietly, taking care not to step on any of the glass coverings. ‘There are others hereabouts as well. This just – well. This is just the one that has Charles in it. You can see why they’re called the Pods,’ he added unnecessarily, gesturing at the floor around him.

‘You keep them in the floor?’ Erik’s voice was low but full of barely-stifled anger.

Logan shrugged. ‘It’s just like a bed,’ he said, sounding infuriatingly unconcerned.

‘It’s just like a _coffin_ ,’ Erik retorted, looking down at the floor unhappily.

‘They’re not so bad,’ Moira said bracingly. ‘It’s a bit more advanced than a hole in the ground, you know. There are temperature regulators, air-flow systems, body function monitors – and they’re actually really very comfortable.’

‘Tried one, have you Doc?’ Logan teased.

‘Yes, actually,’ Moira responded tartly. ‘And I’ll bet that you have too.’

Logan opened his mouth to form his own retort but his mouth snapped shut when he saw Erik move forward to go and crouch by one of the pods. 

‘Hey!’ he said sharply, his eyebrows furrowing. ‘Move it, Lehnsherr, that’s not Charles’s pod.’

‘I’m just looking,’ Erik muttered, examining the surface of the pod carefully. He reached out and ran a hand down the glass surface.

‘Careful, Lehnsherr,’ Moira warned. ‘You’ll wake Gypsy if you’re not careful.’

‘Gypsy,’ Erik repeated slowly, his hands still on the surface of the glass. He didn’t pull away. ‘I just want to-’

His fingers grazed over a small metal button on the floor next to the glass. Almost instinctively he pressed down on it.

‘Shit,’ Logan swore before surging forward to drag Erik away from the pod as the glass cover began to slowly slide down. ‘Lehnsherr, you ass, what the heck do you think you’re doing?’

But Erik didn’t answer. He was staring at the face that was slowly being revealed by the retreating glass cover.

‘ _Magda?_ ’ he breathed, staring in disbelief.

Logan’s eyes immediately snapped to his.

‘You know her, bub?’ he demanded, eyes fixed on Erik’s pallid face.

Erik didn’t seem able to answer at first. After a moment, however, he swallowed and nodded.

‘Yeah,’ he rasped out, unable to tear his eyes away from the sleeping woman’s face. ‘She – she was the first one. The first one to lead me to the Dollhouse.’ He swallowed again. ‘I knew her, once.’

Logan and Moira exchanged a glance but neither said a word.

‘We have to get her out of here,’ Erik said abruptly, sitting back on his heels as he peered down into the enclosure. ‘We need to wake her up and-’ He immediately halted as the woman’s eyelashes began to flutter and he turned to the others with wide eyes. ‘She’s waking up!’

Moira was at his side in a flash, pushing him away and leaning down over the enclosure. Erik snarled and tried to push his way in again but was restrained by Logan’s hand clasped firmly around his shoulder.

‘Don’t make a fuss,’ he said quietly, not letting go of Erik. ‘She’s doing that for a reason. Gypsy won’t recognise you, you know, and seeing your ugly mug first thing on waking? Wouldn’t be good for her – be distressin’ and shit like that. Best let her see MacTaggart first – someone she knows, see?’

Erik’s jaw had tightened but he nevertheless nodded in reluctant understanding.

Moira threw Erik a dirty look over her shoulder before turning back to the Active in front of her – and not a moment too soon for, a second later, the woman in the enclosure let out a small sigh and opened her eyes.

‘Hello Gypsy,’ Moira said softly, her smile warm and welcoming, a complete contrast to the glare she had just sent Erik’s way.

‘Hello,’ Gypsy’s returning smile was equally placid. She slowly began to sit up, blinking her large, wide eyes sleepily. Even when fully upright, her chin only just reached foot level. ‘Is it time to wake up?’ she asked pleasantly.

Moira cast a wary glance over at Logan and Erik, hesitating, before turning back to the Active.

‘No,’ she said softly, and behind her Logan had to tighten his grasp on Erik’s forearm in order to stop him from interfering. ‘It’s not. Go back to bed, Gypsy.’

Gypsy smiled. 

‘Okay,’ she said docilely and immediately lowered herself back down to her bed.

Logan watched grimly as Erik struggled to move forward and deliberately squeezed Erik’s shoulder when it looked like the other man was going to open his mouth in angry protest. He waited until Gypsy was fully reclined in her sleeping compartment and Moira had pressed the button that caused the screen to close before removing his hand from Erik’s shoulder. The moment he did, Erik surged forward but it was too late – the screen had closed completely and Gypsy was once again hidden from sight.

‘Why did you do that?’ Erik snarled, whirling around to glare at both Logan and Moira. ‘Magda was _there_ , I could have _spoken_ to her-’

‘What would be the point?’ Logan interrupted him, his tone blunt. ‘S’not like she have recognised you.’

‘You must remember,’ Moira’s tone was placating, her voice gentle, ‘She is not your Magda right now – she is Gypsy. She is a completely different person.’

‘You mean _non_ -person,’ Logan muttered under his breath. 

Erik gave a brittle nod, his eyes still fixed on the opaque glass covering that hid Magda away from him. 

‘I remember just fine,’ he said grimly, his hands clenched into fists at his sides and his jaw set. ‘Which is why we need to get them _all_ reprogrammed as soon as possible.’ His eyes were flint-hard. ‘ _All_ of them.’

‘Starting with Charles, naturally,’ Logan drawled, eyeing Erik with a smirk.

Erik turned to face him, his eyes narrowed.

‘Starting with Charles,’ he repeated coldly, his eyes boring into Logan’s. ‘Or would you rather that Sebastian Shaw got his hands on him?’

Logan’s face immediately slid into a scowl.

‘You know what I think of that sonofabitch,’ he growled, standing up straight and sending Erik a dirty look. He turned and jerked his head over to one of the Pods further on in the room. ‘Guess we better go and wake Charles up then, huh?’

The others merely nodded and followed him silently over to the other side of the room. Logan came to a stop in front of a Pod the furthest way away from the door and just stood there for a moment, gazing down at the opaque glass screen, an odd look on his face.

‘Not getting cold feet, are you?’ Erik growled, causing Logan to blink out of his stupor. He gave Erik an angry scowl.

‘No,’ he said, turning away from him and glancing back down at the cold glass cover. An odd emotion was stirring in his breast and he couldn’t quite make out whether it was anticipation or fear. ‘Not cold feet. Not anything that _you_ would understand, Lehnsherr.’

Erik looked ready to make a scathing retort but a fierce look from Moira caused him to change his mind. Logan was relieved. He wasn’t much in the mood for any macho bullshit right now.

‘This will just take a minute,’ he said instead, his voice low as he sank down to the side of the Pod. ‘Don’t crowd around the edge there – you don’t wanna overwhelm him. You least of all, Lenhsherr, he doesn’t even know you …’

He hadn’t intended it as a dig, but the scowl on Erik’s face seemed to indicate that it had been taken as such. 

‘Just get on with it,’ Erik growled, tapping his foot impatiently.

Logan ignored him. He glanced down at the glass screen and took a deep breath. This was it, he thought. This was the very last time that he would be able to wake Charles up like this.

He hated that the thought was not a happy one.

Gritting his teeth, he reached out and pressed the small, silver button at the side of the enclosure.

There was a small hiss and then the glass screen began to slowly slide back.

In the background he heard Moira quietly explain something about the release and retraction of sedatives whenever the Pod screen opened and shut but somehow he got the feeling that Lehnsherr wasn’t all that focused on the lecture.

He sure as hell wasn’t.

He watched, barely breathing, as the glass screen pulled back, revealing first a pale forehead, then a closed pair of eyelids, then a nose, a mouth, a chin –

_Like fucking Snow White,_ Logan thought for the hundredth time, the same thought that he got every single time he came to wake Charles up. _Like fucking Snow White in her fucking coffin and we’re the fucking dwarves._

Not that he’d ever, _ever_ dare to assume that he might be Prince Charming. And Lehnsherr sure as hell wasn’t filling _that_ position either.

As he watched, Charles’s eyelids quivered. There was a brief moment where his eyelashes fluttered and then suddenly his eyes opened and all Logan could see was clear, solid blue.

He didn’t speak for a moment. He just looked.

His Active stared back.

‘Hello,’ Charles said. ‘Is it time to wake up?’

Silently cursing himself for missing his cue, Logan quickly tried to recover. 

‘Hello Charles,’ he said, plastering on a pleasant smile even though something beneath his ribs _hurt_. ‘Yes. It is time to wake up.’

Charles smiled at that and slowly began to sit up.

Logan would have been deaf not to have heard the stifled gasp that left Erik’s lips at Charles’s emergence from the Pod but he determinedly ignored it and instead focused his gaze on Charles’s still-sleepy form. 

‘Are you rested?’ he asked gently, following the pre-set script. Handlers weren’t usually in charge of the everyday actions of the Actives – they had House Trainers for that – but Logan was one of the few who preferred to have a more hands-on approach in their Actives’ lives and so he had made sure that he was aware of each and every one of his Active’s routines.

Charles took a moment before answering.

‘I am well,’ he said at last, and Logan hid a grimace. Due to the nature of their work at the Dollhouse, the Actives had no set bedtime, but were scheduled for ‘rests’ that worked around their engagements. Charles, who had been up for most of the previous night, getting last minute checks and tests done before Shaw arrived, could not have been asleep for more than a few hours. It would be enough for him to function on, certainly, but Logan was never very happy about waking his Active up before he got his full recommended seven point five hours.

_Well,_ he thought dryly to himself, _this is the last time that you will have to worry about **that**._

‘Come on, then,’ Logan said gruffly, getting to his feet and looking down at Charles, who gazed up at him from his Pod with wide blue eyes. ‘It’s time to start the day, Chuck.’

He heard Moira make a small, unimpressed noise behind him and knew that she wasn’t particularly pleased about him breaking from script, but he really couldn’t care less at that moment. 

He watched as Charles slowly got to his feet, straightening until he was fully upright. Charles blinked once before walking down to the foot of the Pod and then climbing out of it. Once out, he looked up and smiled.

‘Hello Moira,’ he said.

‘Hello Charles,’ Moira’s voice was as soft and gentle as it always was when she was with him.

Logan watched as Charles’s gaze then moved on to Erik. Erik, who was standing stock-still, watching Charles with something akin to triumphant disbelief on his face.

‘Hello,’ Charles said to him.

Erik said nothing.

‘My name is Charles.’

Erik still said nothing.

Logan snorted but there was something weary in his eyes as he glanced between the two of them. ‘Say hello, Lehnsherr,’ he growled when the silence had continued a bit too long comfort. ‘It’s polite, see?’

Erik looked like he very much wanted to make a very rude gesture in Logan’s direction but Charles’s presence prevented him from doing so. Instead, he straightened up, and, lifting his chin so that his eyes were meeting Charles’s, he finally opened his mouth.

‘Hello, Charles,’ he said, his eyes fierce and unblinking in their intensity. ‘I – I’m Erik.’ If his voice roughened slightly at the end of that sentence then no one mentioned it. 

Charles smiled.

‘Hello, Erik,’ he said easily, before turning his head to look around him, completely oblivious to the oddly wretched look on Erik’s face.

Logan, feeling slightly uncomfortable, let out a cough and shook his head.

‘Right then,’ he growled, breaking the tension, ‘Now that everyone knows who everyone else is, what say we get out of here and – you know – actually do what we came here to do instead of standing around looking pretty?’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Moira snorted but she nodded anyway.

Erik, who seemed to be having a hard time taking his eyes off Charles, eventually also nodded. He still seemed slightly dazed but the moment Logan’s words penetrated his brain, he immediately straightened up, his eyes once more narrowed and watchful for all that they strayed towards Charles every few seconds.

‘Yes,’ he said, watching quietly as Charles blinked pleasantly at the room around him. ‘Let’s go.’

Logan nodded at that and, with a quick glance at Moira, turned and began to lead the way out of the room. Moira followed next, leading Charles by the hand, leaving Erik to bring up the rear.

The walk from the Resting Rooms to the staircase leading up to the Programming centre usually took no more than a few minutes but now the walk seemed to treble in length. The fact that there was no one about was simultaneously reassuring and troubling for all that he had arranged it, and Logan began to feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stir as the four of them crept along the halls, trying to make as little noise as possible.

It would all be over soon. All they had to do was take Charles up to McCoy – who would, no doubt, be tinkering away at something or the other in his office at this time of day – and get him reprogrammed. And then … 

Well. They would deal with that when it happened.

They reached the foot of the staircase and then, as if in agreement, they all came to a pause.

‘Listen up,’ Logan said, turning to the others with a grim look on his face, ‘This is what we’ll do. I’ll head on up there with Charles and start talking to McCoy, feeling him out and shit. Doc, you wait for a few minutes before coming in, so we can try and talk McCoy into helping us out. _You_ ,’ here Logan turned and glared at Erik, ‘ _you_ stay the fuck out until we call for you. McCoy spooks easy, and seeing your ugly mug isn’t going to help him any. Besides,’ he smirked over at Moira, ‘I doubt we’ll have any trouble handling ol’ four eyes if he causes any trouble, am I right, Doc?’

Neither Erik nor Moira looked very impressed.

‘How you got poor Hank to like you I have no idea,’ Moira muttered but then sighed and nodded. ‘And fine, that’s what we’ll do.’ She turned to Erik and raised an eyebrow. ‘Lehnsherr?’

Lehnsherr scowled, obviously not happy about being left out of things, but he reluctantly nodded in agreement. 

‘Fine,’ he snapped, glaring at Logan, ‘But the _moment_ things go wrong-’

‘Relax,’ Logan rolled his eyes and waved him off. ‘Nothing’s gonna-’

Just at that moment there was a muffled shout from the above them, and Erik, Moira and Logan all froze, looking at each other with wide eyes. Unlike the others, Charles didn’t seem to be very concerned about the noise, only mildly interested in where it had originated from.

‘What the hell was that?’ Erik muttered through gritted teeth, his muscles tensing and his eyes darting around in search of any potential threat.

‘Dunno,’ Logan muttered back, looking equally on edge. ‘But we’d better start prayin’ that nobody else heard it.’

‘It sounded like it came from the Programming Room,’ Moira whispered, her face white and her hand clenched tightly around Charles’s. ‘Howlett, it sounded like …’ Her eyes met Logan’s.

‘Hank,’ they both said together, and suddenly they were running, flying up the stairs, with Erik cursing and ushering Charles on behind them.

They came to a stop in front of the door to Hank’s office, the doorway to the Programmer’s innermost sanctum, and they all shared a look.

‘Maybe he just stubbed his toe or something,’ Moira whispered uneasily, looking between Logan and Erik’s faces.

‘Maybe,’ Logan said grimly. ‘But then when have you ever known us to be that lucky?’ Without waiting for Moira to answer, he turned to Erik. ‘You ready, bub?’

Erik reached into his holster and pulled out his gun.

‘Ready,’ he said, moving forward so that he and Logan were flanking either side of the door.

Logan glanced back at Moira who was once again clutching Charles’s hand, an anxious look on her face.

‘You stay here and look after Charlie,’ he said quietly, glancing over to where his Active was standing and quietly taking in the goings-on in front of him. ‘If there’s trouble then you need to get him the hell out of here, you got me?’

Moira licked her lips before dipping her head down in a firm nod.

‘Yes,’ she said simply, and Logan allowed himself to feel minutely reassured.

‘Great,’ he said, and turned back to the door, his own gun now in his hands. He shared a look with Lehnsherr. ‘Let’s hope that McCoy here’s just a clumsy sonofabitch, eh?’

Erik gave him a grim smile and nodded.

‘Let’s do this,’ he said.

They shared a look and then, as one, turned and kicked the door in.

Pushing forward, they stepped through the door, their guns raised high and held out in front of them.

And then paused.

Logan frowned.

Whatever he had expected upon stepping through the door into McCoys’s office, it sure as hell wasn’t this.

Sitting facing the door in a swivel-backed, ergonomic chair with a look of complete terror upon his face was Doctor Henry McCoy, his knuckles white and tense as his hands clutched the armrests in a fierce death-grip.

Standing just behind him with a cheerful, almost benign expression belied by the merciless grip that she had around McCoy’s vulnerable neck, was a girl. A young, harmless-looking girl with blonde hair, blue eyes and dimples. Who also happened to have a knife in her hand.

‘Hello,’ she greeted them cheerfully as they stepped through the door, looking for all the world like she had been expecting them. ‘I was hoping you would turn up soon.’

And just as he opened his mouth to ask the girl who the fuck she was and what the fuck she thought she was doing, Logan saw Erik’s grip on his gun falter and his eyes widen as he opened his mouth and said-

‘ _Raven?_ ’


End file.
